Government of Pakistan has decided to reduce the prices of Petrol and Diesel by PKR 10 per liter and PKR 7.5 per liter.
The new prices will be effective from midnight till December 31st.
| Commodity | Existing prices w.e.f 1.12.2022 | New prices w.e.f 16.12.2022 | Increase/Decrease (in rupees) |
| Petrol | Rs224.80 | Rs214.80 | -10.00 |
| Diesel | Rs235.30 | Rs227.80 | -7.50 |
| Kerosene oil | Rs181.83 | Rs171.83 | -10.00 |
| Light diesel oil | Rs179 | Rs169 | -10.00 |
A $554 million financing package, including new and reallocated funds, has been approved to support recovery and reconstruction efforts in Pakistan following this year’s devastating floods, and to strengthen the country’s disaster and climate resilience.
The financing, which includes a $475 million loan and a $3 million technical assistance grant from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and a $5 million grant from the Government of Japan, will support the restoration of irrigation, drainage, flood risk management, on-farm water management, and transport infrastructure in the flood-affected provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh. ADB’s Emergency Flood Assistance Project will also incorporate climate and disaster resilience measures into the design of the infrastructure. ADB has repurposed an additional $71 million from existing loans to support the government’s flood-response efforts.
“This year’s floods, which affected 33 million people and brought enormous damage to infrastructure and agriculture, are a devastating reminder of Pakistan’s acute vulnerability to climate change,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov. “This project will help to rebuild critical infrastructure in affected areas and restore rural livelihoods.”
State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik said on Monday that Russia has agreed to provide crude oil at discounted prices, a development that could potentially bring down the energy import cost for Pakistan.
Speaking at a press conference, he stated that for a 1% increase in economic growth rate, the country’s energy needs rise by 1-1.5%.
“For 5-6% growth rate, our energy needs will grow by 9-10%,” he said.
Last week, Malik and the petroleum secretary along with a delegation travelled to Russia to hold discussions on oil and gas.
Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation during the month of November was recorded at 23.84% YoY compared to 26.6% YoY in Oct’22. On MoM basis, CPI inflation was up 0.8% as compared to increase of 4.7% last month.
Pakistan has received $500 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Ministry of Finance stated on Tuesday.
“Government of Pakistan has today received $500 million from AIIB. The funds are deposited with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and will augment our reserves,” the ministry said in a post on its Twitter handle.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to raise the policy rate by 100 basis points to 16%.
This decision is aimed at ensuring that elevated inflation does not become entrenched & that risks to financial stability are contained, thus paving the way for higher growth on a more sustainable basis. Higher food & core inflation are key contributors to elevated inflation.
After incorporating the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment of the floods and latest developments, the FY23 projections for growth of around 2% and a current account deficit of around 3% of GDP shared in the last monetary policy statement are re-affirmed.
President Dr. Arif Alvi has approved the appointment of Lt General Asim Munir as the new Chief of Army Staff. The president also approved Lt General Sahir Shamshad Mirza’s name for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The development comes after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to appoint Lt Gen Munir as Chief of the Army Staff and Lt Gen Mirza as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
This was announced by Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Thursday in a tweet earlier in the day. She said that the decision was made by the PM by using constitutional authority.
CPI inflation increased to 26.6% on year-on-year basis in Oct 2022 as compared to an increase of 23.2% in the previous month and 9.2% in Oct 2021, according to data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
On month-on-month basis, it increased to 4.7% in Oct 2022 as compared to a decrease of 1.2% in the previous month and an increase of 1.9% in Oct 2021.
CPI inflation Urban, increased to 24.6% on year-on-year basis in Oct 2022 as compared to an increase of 21.2% in the previous month and 9.6% in Oct 2021. On month-on-month basis, it increased to 4.5% in Oct 2022 as compared to a decrease of 2.1% in the previous month and an increase of 1.7% in Oct 2021.
Pakistan is “no longer subject to FATF‘s increased monitoring process; to continue to work with APG (Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering) to further improve its AML/CFT (anti-money laundering & counter-terrorist financing) system,” states FATF
In a meeting in June, the FATF said it was keeping Pakistan on the list — also known as the ‘grey list’ — but said it might be removed after an on-site visit to verify progress.
Last month, the Foreign Office said a FATF technical team had conducted a “successful” visit and Islamabad was expecting a “logical conclusion” of the evaluation process in October. China has once again thwarted an Indian move in the United Nations to malign Pakistan just days before an important meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has disqualified former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan in the Toshakhana disqualification reference.
A five-member ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and comprising Nisar Durrani, Shah Muhammad Jatoi, Babar Bharwana, and former Justice Ikramullah Khan announced the verdict.
Police, Rangers and Frontier Corps personnel were also deployed on site in large numbers.
Earlier, the ECP approached Islamabad Police for the provision of security to “avoid any untoward incident” today.
Toshakhana is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division and stores precious gifts given to rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, and officials by heads of other governments and states and foreign dignitaries.
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